Before cameras rolled on the film, EA had access to the
shooting script, set designs, production drawings, location
information and costume designs. This enabled the development
team to start work on the 3D models and game concepts in
late 2005, a couple of months ahead of Daniel Craig shooting
his first scenes as 007.

Concept artwork and some 3D models for "Casino
Royale" were
complete even before EA's latest game, "From
Russia With Love", had hit the shelves. Unlike
Activision's eventual title "Quantum
of Solace" in 2008, that included missions based
on "Casino Royale", EA had planned to set the
game in third-person perspective - much like their
blockbuster title "Everything
or Nothing".

In recruitment advertisements posted during
the early days of the project, EA boasted direct ties with
the movie's
production team, including Daniel Craig and the rest of
the cast, director Martin Campbell, the script and marketing
campaign.

EA had expected to release the game on
the next generation videogame platforms on the same day
as the movie
hit theatres. At the time, Microsoft's Xbox 360 had only
just been launched and Sony's PlayStation 3 was still waiting
in the wings. The Nintendo Revolution platform eventually
turned in to the Wii. It was expected that "Casino
Royale" was going to be a launch title for the PS3
in Europe.

Above: Although it would not be until 2008 that Activision
released their game, they visited the Casino
Royale production at Pinewood to gather materials and
capture 3D shots of the cast.

A month later, in January 2006, it was leaked
that although the project was about 15% into development, production
of the
next generation platforms was been cancelled. Speculation mounted
that the title had fallen behind schedule on the new platforms.
Development focus would shift to the current-gen consoles, Xbox
and PS2, for which EA had just released "From Russia With
Love".

News of the game's existence started to become
widely known in January 2006, but a few months later in May 2006,
a bombshell
was dropped on 00-gamers: Activision
were taking over the James Bond videogame licence, despite
EA having recently extended their option until 2010. Activision
paid a reported
$50m for the rights.
EA stated that they were making a strategic decision to move
away from licenced franchises, but rumours circulated that the "Casino
Royale" game
was going to miss its release schedule and MGM were unhappy
about the prospect of lost revenue. The axe fell immediately
on the "Casino Royale" project at EA. The shift of
rights to Activision would not become exclusive until 2007, ruling
out the new developer bringing a title to market in-line with
the move.

MI6 can now reveal some of the early 3D designs for levels based
around the Venice in EA's
ill-fated "Casino Royale" game.